The commercial recording industry, while profitable, has a number of logistical problems. For example, recording companies often cannot produce and distribute sufficient copies of popular recordings within a period of time that is fast enough to take advantage of the popularity peak for the recording. Invariably there are lost sales by virtue of the fact that some consumers cannot obtain copies of a recording until after the popularity of that recording has ebbed. Another problem for recording companies is the large investment required in materials, labor and equipment for reproducing thousands and sometimes millions of copies of a recording.
On another scale, the retailer of commercial recordings, in order to provide customers with a large selection, must have a considerable inventory investment. Quite often, because of changes in the popularity of various types of music, the retailer is left with stock that can only be sold below the retailer's cost. The retailer also has costs associated with transportation and shoplifting.
Another phase of the problem in the recording industry may be viewed from the perspective of the consumer. The consumer must travel to a music store to make a purchase or wait a long time for a mail or phone order through a standard music club to arrive. Often, in the case of very popular recordings, the consumer must wait to obtain his copy because the retailer is temporally sold out. Another problem faced by the consumer is his lack of choice in selecting the recordings he wishes to purchase. Specifically, the vast majority of recordings are albums containing a number of musical selections. If the consumer wishes to obtain copies of only one or two of the selections in an album, he is often forced to purchase the entire album because the desired selections are not available as singles.
The recording industry produces a large amount of recorded material for distribution to the public. The industry's distribution system enables only a relatively small number of recorded works to be packaged and sent to retail outlets for purchase by the consumer. Unless the consumer is familiar with artists or has heard the recording on the radio or television and remembers the title of the recording and/or the artist's name, the consumer has no knowledge of what is in the wrapped package and has no opportunity to listen to the recording. Consequently, large amounts of commercial quality music go unpurchased.
Systems presently exist for vending recordings in non-traditional ways. In one variation of such a system, a customer uses a specialized vending machine, typically located in a music store, to enter the title of requested music programs that she would like on a custom recording. Data representing the music is transmitted from a central station to the vending machine where a custom recording is produced.
Some radio stations, particularly public radio stations broadcasting non-musical programs, broadcast an ordering number after each program which can be used by customers to call the radio station and order a transcript or a copy of the program.
In another type of system, a customer calls into a music ordering company. An operator talks to the customer, getting billing and shipment information as well as the titles of musical programs that the customer wants to purchase. The music ordering company holds an inventory of prerecorded selections, much like a music store, and ships the requested albums or singles to the customer. For radio stations which have set play lists that are shared with the music ordering company, a customer can give the operator the date, time and radio station of a program which she heard, and, if that radio station uses a set play list that is shared with the music ordering company, those particular prerecorded albums and singles can be identified and shipped to the customer. Overwhelmingly, however, public radio stations are the only stations that use set play lists.